_______
Malverne/West HeMpstead
______
HERALD
Navigate Today’s Mar ket With Confidence. Proven Success. Expert Guida nce.
Also serving Lakeview
A fun-filled Lakeview Day
Bob Houlihan is honored
Page 3
Page 7
VoL. 33 No. 32
AUGUST 6 - 12, 2026
Licensed Real Estate Salesp
erson
Free Home Evaluation
516-984-4933
gitellesteinfeld@gmail
$1.00
.com
123 Grove Ave. • Ceda
rhurst
Celebrating 30 years with Connolly Station By ALYSSA R. GRIFFIN agriffin@liherald.com
Courtesy Timothy Sullivan
Folks gathered at Connolly Station to celebrate 30 years serving the Village of Malverne.
Village officials, longtime customers, family and friends gathered at Connolly Station on July 23 to celebrate the pub’s 30th anniversary, recognizing a business that has become one of Malverne’s best-known gathering places. For three decades, Connolly Station has been more than an Irish restaurant in the heart of the village. Since opening in 1995, it has become a place where neighbors celebrate milestones, friendships are formed and nurtured and generations of patrons continue to return. Owner Gerry Hughes emigrated from Dublin to the United States in 1969 with little experience in the bar business beyond working as a lounge boy, delivering drinks to customers at a local pub. After arriving, he worked at Gallagher’s, in Rockaway Beach, before eventually becoming a partner in the Rockaway Beach Inn, which he owned for decades. Hughes came to Malverne after his friend Jimmy Reilly introduced him to the opportunity to operate a pub in the Continued on page 19
Lawsuit seeks to halt charter school’s W.H. location By ALYSSA R. GRIFFIN agriffin@liherald.com
The New York State United Teachers has filed a lawsuit seeking to block Diamond Charter School in Hempstead from temporarily relocating to West Hempstead, just weeks before it is scheduled to open for its inaugural school year this September. The petition, filed in Albany County Supreme Court by the teachers’ union, along with parents and educators from Hempstead and West Hempstead, seeks a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order against the State Univer-
sity of New York Board of Trustees, SUNY Char ter Schools Committee, SUNY Charter Schools Institute and Diamond Charter School. T h e l aw s u i t ch a l l e n g e s SUNY’s approval of the school’s temporary relocation to West Hempstead while its permanent Hempstead facility is under construction. Diamond Charter School, which was authorized by the SUNY Charter Schools Institute in 2024, plans to open this fall temporarily at 12 Westminster Road in West Hempstead, while their planned permanent location at 131 Fulton Ave, Hempstead is renovated.
The lawsuit alleges SUNY approved the relocation without completing analyses re q u i re d u n d e r s t at e l aw regarding the impact the move would have on families and school districts. The suit also contends that the approval moved forward despite widespread public opposition. The lawsuit notes that the Board of Regents voted in May to reject the proposed relocation and retur ned it to the SUNY Charter Schools Committee for reconsideration, citing concerns about public opposition, transportation, enrollment, transparency and the analysis supporting the move.
According to NYSUT, the committee later approved the temporary move a second time. “This isn’t just about one school,” NYSUT President Melinda Person said. “It’s about two communities that were ignored.” “People in Hempstead and West Hempstead spoke out, showed up and made their concerns clear, but
SUNY Charter Schools Committee pushed ahead anyway. This pattern of blatant disregard for the law and for the communities our public institutions are supposed to support is why we’re asking the court to step in.” According to the lawsuit, the relocation could have financial Continued on page 5